


Fast Feet, Full Of Hope

by Shizukana2203



Series: Welcome to Watchtower High [3]
Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Descriptions of child abuse, Descriptions of neglect, Gen, Mentions of near character death, Wally's dad is. Not A Good., ableist slurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-04 15:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12171651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shizukana2203/pseuds/Shizukana2203
Summary: Wally's life hadn't started out the best. He didn't let it being him down though, especially not when he had a brother like Hal Jordan.





	Fast Feet, Full Of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I headcanon Wally as mildly autistic. I am not autistic, and will be the first to say that I am nowhere near an expert on the subject of autism, or how autistic people behave/act. If you see any issues or inaccuracies with this portrayal of Wally in regards to his autism, please please PLEASE let me know!
> 
> Also, Rudolph West is an absolute bastard. Trigger warnings for child abuse, domestic abuse and neglect.
> 
> Also, again, I hate the way this ends but this has been sitting in my WtWH folder for like, months now and I really just wanna post it already.

Wally panted as his feet slapped the track, pushing harder as he raced against the clock. His heart thundered in his chest even as everything else seemed to move at a snail's pace. His vision narrowed, seeing the finish line and nothing else. Twenty steps. Ten. Five. Three. One.

The click of the timer stopping caught his ears and he slowed, skidding to a halt. His head snapped to the screen, eyes roving anxiously over it as he waited for his time to display.

000:09:012

New record.

Wally cheered, red hair flying as he bounced up and down faster than the eye could see. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his surrogate brother approach, a large smile on his face. He turned, sporting a matching grin.  
"Hey, well done! That was a whole second and a half faster!"  
Wally laughed, flapping his hands slightly.  
"Heh heh, yeah, you bet it was! I finally beat Barry's record, Hal!"  
The redhead suddenly stilled, clutching his hands together with a look of intense concentration. Hal canted his head, confused.  
"Wally?"  
Wally looked up, biting his lip, looking ashamed.  
"Sorry. I was doing it again. I'll try to stop it..."  
The older boy frowned, concerned. He was aware of the speedster's mild autism, Barry having told him about it before the kid went to live with him. He had done some research and knew that stimming was a common autistic tendancy and that hand-flapping was completely harmless.  
"Why? You aren't doing anything wrong."

Wally flinched slightly, releasing his hands. Hal wrapped an arm around his shoulders, his concern evolving into full-blown worry.  
"Wally? You know you can tell me anything, right?"  
Wally nodded mutely, his hands starting to flap again. Hal waited patiently for his surrogate brother to find his words, listening attentively.  
"When I...my dad...ugh, why is talking so hard?!"  
Hal put his free hand on Wally's knee.  
"Take your time."  
Wally sighed, his fingers twitching.  
"You know my dad, right?"  
Hal's face darkened. He knew that bastard well enough. After all, it was his fault Barry and Wally were almost killed.  
"Well, when he found out I was autistic, he..."  
"Didn't like it?"  
Wally laughed humorlessly.  
"To put it lightly. He called me a retard frequently, it became his new name for me. He used to say that metas and retards were the scum of the Earth, and that someone who was both didn't deserve to live. Kept me around though. Used me as his personal punching bag. It sucked."  
Hal tightened his grip unconsciously, wishing to Hell he had paid attention to his instincts and cleaned that asshole's clock when he had first met him. Wally glanced at him, then quickly looked back at his hands.  
"He used to zip tie my hands together if he saw me flapping - that's how I got so good at vibrational phasing, got a lot of practise in while getting out of the zip ties. Hated it. Hated him more. Hated him the most when he smashed Mom's picture though. Was the only thing I had to remember her by. I managed to save the photo itself, but the frame she made was ruined. First time I ever retaliated. Earned me a broken arm and my first broken ribs."

Wally sighed again, pulling off his t-shirt. Hal had seen the scars underneath before, but never up close and never for more than the blink of an eye. Running his fingers lightly over the speedster's skin, Hal traced the letters etched into the pale flesh. The words 'freak', 'retard', 'bastard' and 'worthless' glared back at him, with other letters peeking around the redhead's too thin torso.  
"There's one more on my back. That one's the longest."  
Hal looked and almost threw up. There, carved harshly into Wally's back, was a horrific message.  
'I am a freak of nature who murdered my own mother.'  
"He, ah, never really got over Mom's death."  
Hal placed his hands on Wally's shoulders, looking at his face until the redhead met his eyes.  
"You know that her death wasn't your fault, right? That you aren't to blame for that, or any of this--" he gestured to the scars-- "right? You are the victim here."  
Wally smiled, a mix of sadness and bliss on his face.  
"Yeah. I didn't, at first. Then I met you and Barry, and it started to become more and more apparent. Some things...just stuck, I guess. Y'know what they say about old habits."

There was a moment of quiet before Wally spoke up again.  
"Y'know, you never really told me much about your family before I came along. Got any good stories?"  
Hal smirked ruefully.


End file.
